Dream Team (The Office)
In the episode, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) and Michael Scott (Steve Carell) try to keep each other motivated as the two form their new paper company together.
Michael recruits Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) for the company, which sets up a new office in the same building complex as Dunder Mifflin.
Meanwhile, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) tries to impress new boss Charles Miner (guest star Idris Elba) by claiming to be a soccer enthusiast, but it backfires when Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) convinces the two to face each other in a game.
"Dream Team" received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series.
In the cold open, Kevin Malone struggles to correctly transfer phone calls, after having been moved to reception by Charles.
He receives a letter from his condo association saying that running a business from his condominium is in violation of his residence agreement, so he needs to find office space for the company.
Meanwhile, at the Dunder Mifflin office, Charles Miner is revealed to have an obsession with soccer, and the rest of the employees pretend to feel the same way about it.
In the car leaving the nursing home, Vikram asks to be brought back to the telemarketing job after he learns "nana" is a term for grandmother.
[2][3] Mindy Kaling, an Office writer who also stars as Kelly Kapoor, thought of the idea of Ryan dying his hair blond.
[7] Another official NBC site, dundermifflininfinity.com, created a Flash game inspired by the episode, in which the viewer attempts to kick a soccer ball past Jim in the office parking lot and hit Phyllis in the face.
He also liked Kevin's struggle with the phones in the beginning, but said the storyline between Jim and Charles was getting repetitive and, "It would help if the writers ever gave Idris Elba something funny to do.
"[2] Steven Mullen of The Tuscaloosa News called the episode "stellar", said the Charles Miner soccer subplot ended "perfectly" and said, "Watching [Michael's] fears bubble beneath the surface and slowly erode Pam's confidence was a masterwork.
Phipps, who gave the episode an A− grade, also said the Dunder Mifflin material worked well, "although Idris Elba has been so good at portraying a heartless professional it almost doesn’t seem right for anything to break through his icy exterior.
However, she praised Michael's pep talk to Pam in the final scene, and said the episode was "the best showcase Jenna Fischer has had in years".
[20] Claire Scanlon received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series.
